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R. A. HOYLE. APPARATUS FOR THE FUSION 0F REFRACTORY MATERIALS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY I, ISIS.

Patented Sept. 2, 1919.

. JH z2 25 for citizen of therUnite Worcester,

' instance,

PATENT 'OFFICE RALPH A. H'OYL, 0F WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

' Arranacrusron rHnrUsIoN To n.77. whom t may concernk. l ,j 1

Be it lmownfthat I Raum; A.' H0YLE,' a

in@ the county'lfofWorcesteand Commonwealth ofy Massachusetts, have in- 'ented a new and useful Improvement in, Xpparatus for the Fusion `of Bflactoryv'. Materials, of which the following, 'together with the accompanying drawings, is a specifcation. i a Y.

The present invention ments in 'apparatus for 'fractory materials and has. ence to the provision of Suche paratus is. suitable for use in vthemanu acture,

of the artiiiei'alfabrasiye,alundum, the fusionY of bauxite or thefalnorphous relates to improve-` the fusion 'of reparticular referoxid ofV alumina.

The invention resides-in l a novel combination and arrangement of instrumentalitiea as hereinafter set forth, `by means of which the electric furnace method nowjn common use for the fusionof the above and similar ores is greatl simplified, asa yresult 'of which, the 'initial eost'ofthe apparatus used recur-ing such fusion is greatly rcaduce The invention is fully Yset forth and described hereinafter, `landi pointed out in the appended claims, reference-beinghad to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a sectional view of apparatus constituting my'invention. Fig. 2 is aplan viewvof such apparatus, and L f i Fi g. 3 is an enlarged view illustrating ccrtain devices used in connection `with my apV paratus.

Like reference characters referl to like partsin the different figures.

In the manufacture of alundum and other similar'abrasives, as now practised, the ore which is to be fused is treated inpan 4electric furnace of'special 'and expensive construction, the same ordinarily .comprising a shell, which, in some instances, may be lined with refractory material, and which frequently requires some provision for water cooling. The bottom of the crucihle in such furnaces is made separable from theshcll, in order ,to permit said. shell to be lifted off, at the end of a run, to render the solidified charge readily removable. The electrodes in such 'furnaces are ordinarily suspended above the same and project. into the shell: provision is Iliade for raising and lowering the bottom or base of the erucible, which carf1 l speciacauon er Letter; Patent.

fading@ fori or anraac'ronr internalaus.y

-V Patented Sept. 2, 1919.

appunti@ inea July i, rail'. serial nq. 242,917.-

' ries with .it then-removable shell, so that, as

fthe -chargeinisaid shell is progressively with theelectrodes. 1

According-tothe. present invention, the necessity 'ofsproviding expensive and complicated furnace installationasuch as above described, is' eliminated.` Asshown in the drawings, the mill floor' is rovided with a plurality -o'f rows. of suita ly shaped pits 1,'"1, thesame extending to adepth of ap parts of the charge into intimate contact proximately Athreeivfeet below `the floor level 2". Each Vsuch pit .1, according vto my-invention,` constitutes the Crucible or pot of an electric furnace for the fusion Vof 'the desired charge, bauxite or the like. Associated with each` row of pits 1, 1 is an over-V4 'head traveler 3, adapted to move on suitable tracks a set of electrodes 5," fiwhich are thus made Y available for'u'se' successively, with respect t0 all the pits 1, 1 Vinthe row over which the traveler moves. Suitable devices G are provided on each traveler for raising` and lowei'ing electrodes o, 5 with respect to the bot- .tom 4of a pit-1. `A hood 7, with suitable openings. (not shown), `for feeding` the charge to each pit 1 and V'forobservation, is provided to coniine the gases resulting' from the fusion ofthe charge and to direct their 'escape through the flue 8. Such a hood may, if desired, be carried by the traveler 3, and

'l at the same` time that the electrodes 5 are lowered into said pit.

The bottom of each pit is prcferuhl y con- -stitutedby .a lining of carbon 9, and, as shown.- at .the right hand side of Fig. 1, provision may be made for disposing one or more chains l() alongside the walls of the pit before the charge is fed-in, the ends of said chainA or chains projecting above the floor level 2. l

The operation of .the apparatus is as fol- IoWs:-Thc first pit of a row is made ready -for a run by disposing the chains 10 therein. after which the traveler 3 is moved alongr the ways 4 until it is directly above said pit. The electrodes the pit, and the hood is lowered o over the pit, and the material to he treated is fed into the pit gradually and becomes fused or reduced' to 'a molten mass by the action of.

treated, the

full, or the run'completed, thus bringing all may helowered into position over each pit 5 are lowered into or ways 4, 4, and tliistraveler carries low wall-*of rebrick, or

drawing up of Fig. 1,1111

` the the arel produced by said electrodes. `The latter are gradually raised during this operation es more material is fed in on top 0f thatwhich has. become fused at the bot tom. The material around the sides of the pit, at a distancesomewhat remote from the arc, being of a refractory nature, is not fused in with the mass of material 'toward the center of the pit, but, on the other hand, serves as a lining for the molten mass, as shown at 11, Fi 1, and thus protects the sides of the pit rom the intense heat. As soon as fusion is completed in this rst pit, the electrodes and the hood 7 are moved over tozthe neitsucceeding pit in the row, where the operation above described 4is repeated, themolten mass in the first pit being .left to coo In this way there is no loss of time after each run such as occurs in the electric furnaces now in use for this purpose. When the-molten mass in any pit as cooled and solidied, it is lwitlridrawn by the chains 10, 10, so that the unfused material which served as a lining for the pit can be broken or chipped off, thus exposing the pig or ma of fused and rdened material produced by the operation above described.

Instead qf using =the chains 10 for the withdrawal of the pig or mass of fused material, as shown at the right hand side e devices shown at the left hand 'side of Fig. 1, and also in rfig. 3, may with advan be employed; s', indicated, the mouth o each pit 1 may be )surrounded by a lother refractory material, which wall is preferably composed of interlocking sections 12, 12, the structure thus assembled being temporarily held together by means of tie rods 13, 13. This wall constitutes a temporary extension of pit 1 which enables a somewhat larger charge of the material to be fused therein.

fter a run is completed, the Vshallow wall is removed, either bodily or by loosening the tie rods 13, thus leaving a portion of the pig rejecting above the mouth ofthe pit 1. his projecting portion ofthe pig serves as a hold for the'removal of the entire pig from the pit, as will be readily understood. The sections 12, 12, being made interchangeable, can easily be replaced when burned out by the intense heat to which they are subjected during repeated runs.

I claim 1. In apparatus of the class described, the combination with a row of alined ldepressions or pits, of a single overhead traveler associated` therewith, electrodes carried by said traveler, and, means for raising and lowering said electrodes with respect to thc bottom of each pit over which said traveler is`dis osed. A

2. n apparatus of the class described, the combination with a row 4of alined depressions or pits, of a single overhead traveler associated therewith, means for moving said traveler into position over successive pits of said row, electrodes carried by said traveler, and means for raising and lowering said electrodes with respect to the bottom of each pit over which said traveler is disposed.

3. In apparatus of the class described, the combination with a row of alined depressions or pits, of a single-overhead traveler associated therewith, a hood carried by said traveler and adapted to cover one of said pits, electrodes carried by said traveler, and means for raising and lowering said electrodes with respect to the bottom of each pit over which said traveler is disposed.

4. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination with a row of alined depressions, or pits, of an overhead traveler associated therewith, a hood carried by said traveler, and means for raisingand lowering said hood to successively cover said pits.

5. In apparatus of the class described, the combination with a depression below the ground level constituting a receptacle for material, to be fused, of a removable bottom for said depression, and means extending below said bottom and terminating above the ground level for removing the fused material from said receptacle.

6. In apparatus of the class described,`

the combination with a depression below the ground level constituting a receptacle for the materia] to be fused` of means surrounding the mouth of said depression and serving as an extension thereof, said means being removable, whereby to leave the fused mate rial projecting above the mouth of said depression. RALPH' A. HOYLE.

Witnesses:

NELLIE WHALEN, PENnnoPE Colunnlumcu. 

